Flagler College stage productions open tonight
The Senior Conservatory Productions at Flagler College will be in the spotlight this week when "Three Tall Women," by Edward Albee, is presented Wednesday and Friday, and "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress," by Alan Ball, is on stage Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Curtain time is 7 p.m. at the Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada St. Tickets are $5, which include admission to two nights of shows.

Auxiliary sending items to troops
American Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 37 is sending items to troops for Christmas, and members are currently raising money for postage.

Voters league to investigate Nov. election
After hearing reports of voting difficulties during the presidential election, the local unit of the League of Women Voters has decided to investigate possible illegal and ethical violations of election laws.

Pilot Club donates to hospice
A $500 donation to Community Hospice of North Florida for the Bailey Family Center for Caring was presented Nov. 19 when the Pilot Club of St. Augustine welcomed Mark Bailey and DeAnn Collins to the club's program meeting.

Go and Do
TODAY
* Sailing adventure: Board the schooner Momentum for a tour that takes marine archaeology enthusiasts offshore from St. Augustine to gather real-time data on sunken ships by using a side-scan sonar. Participants even get a digital copy of the recorded sonar data. Owned and operated by Outreach Sailing Adventures, several tours times are offered. For information, go to outreachsailing.blogspot.com or call Michael Murray at (208) 860-6529.

National Report
Lawyer: Trampled worker lacked training
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- A worker trampled to death when customers stormed a Wal-Mart for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving had no experience in crowd control and was placed at the entrance because of his hulking frame, police and a lawyer said Monday. The details about the deadly stampede came out as police pored over video surveillance while considering possible criminal charges.

Rice sent to India for support
WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush on Sunday dispatched Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New Delhi in support of India following the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 people, including six Americans.

Obama taps Clinton, Gates for 'new dawn'
CHICAGO -- Barack Obama promised "a new dawn of American leadership" in a troubled world Monday, announcing a strong-willed national security team headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who fought him long and bitterly for the presidency, and Robert Gates, the man who has been running two wars for George W. Bush.

Dirty teeth reveal 9,200-year-old diet
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thanks to poor dental hygiene, researchers are getting a more detailed understanding of what people ate thousands of years ago in what is now Peru.

Bush legacy: Time will tell
WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush says history will judge him, but he is getting his own crack first. Bush is using his final 50 days in office to tout his legacy, hoping to leave a lasting impression of overshadowed progress.

Recession declared
WASHINGTON -- Put it in the history books: The country was officially diagnosed with a job-killing recession Monday, and woeful new evidence showed it's getting worse. Wall Street convulsed at the news, tanking 680 points, and Washington pledged even more help to try to ease the pain.

Obama selects friends and foes for top posts
WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama plans on Monday to announce six experienced hands to fill top administration posts, moving at record speed to name the leadership team that will guide his presidency through a time of war and recession.

In space, people would face lots of health dangers
PHILADELPHIA -- Space shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson and his crew took a small but crucial step for space travel in the past two weeks, enlarging the International Space Station so it can house six astronauts instead of three.

Fund helps working mom for holidays
The Empty Stocking Fund helped a 37-year-old mother of three last year who had just gotten a full-time job that fit in with her children's school schedules but was laid off just after Thanksgiving.

Conch House wins round
Conch House owners won their case in federal bankruptcy court against a New York bank that wanted the business shut down and its assets sold off.

Big buildings on campus
When Kathy O'Keefe, head of Flagler College's alumni relations, looks out the windows of her new office, she can see the building where her dad once worked and the corner where she waited for him on playground swings.

Palatka men face murder charges
A shot fired at a Palatka police officer over the weekend has led to the arrest of three suspects in a month-old murder, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Cyclist injured in collision
A bicyclist was seriously injured Saturday night when hit by a pick-up truck off State Road 16, said St. Johns County Fire Rescue.

Local general to direct U.S. Air Guard
St. Augustine resident Maj. Gen. Emmett R. "Buddy" Titshaw Jr. was recently appointed to acting director of the Air National Guard, responsible for an $8 billion budget and 107,000 air guardsmen across the U.S.

Michael L. Crow
Michael L. Crow, 60, of Palm Coast, Fla., died Nov. 26, 2008, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was born in Kalamazoo, Mich., and had resided in the area for the past five years. He was the area manager for Beall's Department Stores. He was a member of Anastasia Baptist Church.

Alvera Ashe Cason
Alvera Ashe Cason, 84, passed away Nov. 28, 2008. She was born in Wesley, Ga., on Dec. 27, 1924, the youngest of seven children. She was raised in Orangedale, Fla., and lived most of her life in Palm Valley, Fla. Alvera had a teaching degree from Florida State University, an honorary doctorate of theology from Zoe University, and was also an ordained minister. She gave lifelong service to God through Christ the Redeemer Church in Ponte Vedra and Calvary International Missions organization.

Carrie Lynn Methvin
Carrie Lynn Methvin, 49, of St. Augustine passed away Nov. 28, 2008, in Flagler Hospital. She was a native of Jacksonville, Ill., the daughter of James R. and Donna Smith. Memorial services will be held 10 a.m. Thursday in the Craig Funeral Home Chapel. Flowers are accepted, or those wishing may make contributions to the Hospice of Northeast Florida, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257.

We must return to a market economy
In the old days -- from the Venetian Republic to, oh, the Bear Stearns rescue -- if you wanted to get rich, you did it the Warren Buffett way: You learned to read balance sheets. Today you learn to read political tea leaves. You don't anticipate Intel's third-quarter earnings; instead, you guess what side of the bed Henry Paulson will wake up on tomorrow.

Cuomo as N.Y. senator?
In anticipation of President-elect Obama's selection of Sen. Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state, the drums are beating loudly along the shores of the Hudson for a long list of Democratic worthies to take her seat in the U.S. Senate.

Obama and the Mideast
As President-elect Barack Obama focuses on the meltdown of the U.S. economy, another fire is burning: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Terrorists' restless leg syndrome
I thought the rest of the world was going to love us if we elected B. Hussein Obama! Somebody better tell the Indian Muslims. As everyone but President-elect B. Hussein Obama's base knows, many of the Guantanamo detainees cannot be sent to their home countries, cannot be released and cannot be tried. They need to be held in some form of extra-legal limbo the rest of their lives, sort of like Phil Spector.

Letter: Check tail lights on rental cars
Editor: A police officer in Ponce Inlet saved me from the high probability of having a fatal accident Thanksgiving night. I had left for home after dark following a family Thanksgiving dinner. His flashing lights pulled me over. The officer came up to my window.

Letter: 'First Thanksgiving' debate continues
Editor: Friday's interesting article on the historical roots of the first Thanksgiving, "Thanksgiving 1565," woefully omits mention of the first official one. It is historically correct that the first Thanksgiving was not held by the Pilgrims in 1621 in Massachusetts. While the celebratory meal hosted by Pedro de Menendez de Aviles in 1565 on the St. Augustine shore may be the first harvest feast held in the New World, it was by no means an event chronicled at the time as a thanksgiving. That honor belongs solely to the State of Virginia. The first official Thanksgiving took place Dec. 4, 1619, at Berkeley Hundred, what is today Berkeley Plantation, on the James River, and it was put on by 38 English settlers whose group charter required them to set aside annually their arrival day "as a day of thanksgiving to almighty God."

Police Report
The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO), St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD) and St. Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD).

Police reports
The following was compiled from police reports collected from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office (SJCSO), St. Augustine Police Department (SAPD) and St. Augustine Beach Police Department (SABPD):

NFL: Tampa Bay gets game in London in 2009
IRVING, Texas -- Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware and running back Marion Barber were not at practice Monday, the first time the Cowboys were back on the field since both were hurt Thanksgiving Day.

Bucs edge Saints
TAMPA -- New Orleans put the game in Drew Brees' hands, and Tampa Bay took it right away.

Local Watch
The third Handa Cup, a match-play event for LPGA Tour players 45 years and older, will be held Friday-Saturday at the Slammer & Squire. Tickets are $10. Matches begin at 9 a.m. on those days.

Gators hope to have Harvin
GAINESVILLE -- Florida's Percy Harvin limped around campus in a protective boot Monday and showed improvement, but coach Urban Meyer said his star receiver remained questionable for the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Steelers hammer Patriots, Cassel
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Pittsburgh's NFL-best defense stopped Matt Cassel's two-game offensive surge and pushed New England closer to strange territory: a sideline seat for the playoffs. The Steelers held the Patriots to 267 yards, got two touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger and four field goals from Jeff Reed and beat the Patriots 33-10 on a cold, rainy Sunday.

NHL: Red Wings hold on for win
DETROIT -- Marian Hossa scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 Monday night.

National: Armstrong commits to Tour de France
PARIS -- Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Ball awarded to the European Footballer of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the fourth Manchester United player to take the honor and first since fellow winger George Best in 1968.

NBA: Celts whip Magic
BOSTON -- Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 24 points in the third quarter to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth straight win, 107-88 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

College hoops: UF pulls away for win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Western Kentucky found a way to stop Samardo Samuels and No. 3 Louisville. Double-teaming Louisville's freshman big man at every turn, the Hilltoppers stunned the Cardinals 68-54 on Sunday for their first victory over a top-three opponent in more than 40 years.

Local Watch 2
University of Montevallo men's basketball player Terrill Humphrey (Menendez) had nine points off the bench in a 62-59 win over Cumberland on Saturday night. Humphrey hit a pair of free throws with under 30 seconds to play to cement the win. ...

Dream match for SEC title
ATLANTA -- This is what the Southeastern Conference had in mind when it started college football's first league championship game back in 1992.

Jags: Collier's accused shooter faces judge
JACKSONVILLE, -- A man accused of shooting Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Richard Collier 14 times appeared Monday at a pretrial hearing, only to have another pretrial hearing set next week.

India claims gunman tied to Pakistani group
MUMBAI, India -- The only gunman captured after a 60-hour terrorist siege of Mumbai said he belonged to a Pakistani militant group with links to the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, a senior police officer said Sunday.

India's home minister resigns
India's home minister has stepped down as a result of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, according to media reports, as the country begins to take stock of -- and lay blame for -- the strikes that disrupted the country's financial capital last week.

World Report
India demands strong action from Pakistan
MUMBAI, India -- India demanded Monday that Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the deadly Mumbai attacks, and Washington pressured Islamabad to cooperate with the probe.